The Les Amis in New York City
by AzureOtter
Summary: Modern day AU. Eponine, a French foreign exchange student, drags the Les Amis to New York City. She wants to go to a Harry Potter convention, Grantaire wants to go to a wine shop, etc. But when they get involved in a feud involving Cosette's father and a police inspector, and many secrets are revealed, this trip will prove to be much more trouble than they thought...
1. Chapter 1

**I hope you like this! I don't own Les Mis. **

Enjorlas groaned. "Guys, please do not drag me along to this."

"C'mom, Man, it'll be fun!" Grantaire insisted. "I bet they'll have some good beer."

"No, they'll have pumpkin juice," Eponine insisted. "I told you guys, they will not have alcohol."

"Then what's the fun in it?"

Eponine huffed. "For your information, Leaky Con is the best, awesomest-"

"Awesomest is not a word," Enjorlas pointed out.

"-_Awesomest, _coolest, most damn amazing 'Harry Potter' event in the world."

"Look, there's Marius and Cosette!" Combeferre exclaimed.

"They're late," Eponine said, looking at her watch.

"What did you expect from the world's most devoted lovers?" Courfeyrac demanded. "Hey, Romeo! Juliet! Over here."

A bright smile lit up Cosette's face and she ran over to her friends, holding her boyfriend's hand. She looked amazing, as usual, Eponine thought bitterly. She wore an orange halter top and black capris, her long, thick, wavy blonde hair hanging over her shoulder, her make up perfectly done. Eponine bit her lip as she looked down at herself, in her plain, dark jeans and black anime T-shirt, her limp black hair hanging in a scraggly ponytail, her face coated with acne instead of make-up.

"You're late," Jean Prouvaire remarked.

Marius ignored him. "Well, we had better get into the airport. Don't wanna miss the plane."

"I do," Enjorlas muttered grumpily as they stepped into the Chicago airport.

"Oh, come _on, _guys," Eponine said. "Stop complaining. I promise you that once we're done with Leaky Con, we'll do what everyone else wants. Grantaire, we'll go to your precious wine shop-"

"Uh-huh," the boy said. Grantaire, despite being only nineteen, was _obsessed _with fine wine.

Eponine continued: "We'll see a show on Broadway for Combeferre, we'll-"

"Why don't we make a list," Marius suggested. "For now, let's just worry about getting on the plane."

* * *

The plane ride was awful. Marius and Cosette mooned over each other the entire time, Joly fretted about the dangers or being high in the air like that, Bahorel and Feuilly were commenting on everything in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle", which was currently playing on the TV, Prouvaire sang Latin hymns, Lesgle kept making comments about how, with his luck, the plane would crash, Courfeyrac spent the entire time negotiating on the phone with his ex-girlfriend, Combeferre sketched the passengers, and, to make matters worse, Grantaire got drunk. It was a surprise they weren't kicked off the plane.

There was no need for sight-seeing when they finally got to their hotel.

"C'mon, guys, I'm exhausted," Eponine said. "Let's just get to bed."

"Whose bed?" Grantaire teased.

"Shut up, Grantaire."

They were almost at the elevators when a worried-looking man holding a briefcase stopped them. His tie was undone, his face not shaved, and he looked like he had not slept for two days. "Excuse me, but do you know where I might find a man named Jean Valjean? Apparently, he just checked out."

They shook their heads. Cosette looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't.

"You might try the pool," Eponine suggested.

"No. He wouldn't be there. Well, thank you for your help, anyways. Erm, could I get your names?"

"I'm Grantaire," said the drunk. "This is my bud, 'Jorlas, my friend Marius, and then Feuilly, Bahorel, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Lesgle, Jean Prouvaire, Joly, Marius' girl, Cosette, and my gal, 'Ponine."

"I am _not _your gal," Eponine said hotly.

"Are you French?" the business man asked. "Your accents, and your names-"

"We're foreign exchange students," Combeferre said.

The man nodded. "I was, too. In college. I've lived in America since. Excuse me, you must be tired. Good night."

They murmured their goodbyes. When the man had left, Enjorlas punched Grantaire in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You just gave our names to a total stranger!"

"What? I didn't give your last names."

"But who else in Manhattan has names like 'Enjorlas' and 'Eponine'?"

"Enjorlas and Eponine, sitting in a tree-"

"Oh, just shut up."

"Cosette, what's wrong?" Enjorlas asked.

"Jean-Jean Valjean is my father's name."

"Must be someone else," Lesgle said. "Your father is in France, isn't he?"

Cosette nodded, but she still looked worried.

They stepped into the elevator. Naturally, it was a bit crowded.

"God, Grantaire, you're stepping on my toe!" Eponine yelped.

"Would you rather me step on something else?"

"You're sick."

"So, 'Ponine, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Marius asked.

"Oh, let's not think of it," the girl said drowsily. "All I want is sleep."

"All I want is a room somewhere-"

"Courfeyrac, this is not the time to sing 'My Fair Lady' songs!"

The doors swung open and the students stepped out. "Well, I guess Cosette and I are sharing," said Eponine bitterly.

"Why so bitter, 'Ponine?" Bahorel asked.

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Cosette exclaimed, throwing an arm around the other girl.

"I suppose," Eponine muttered, though she didn't mean it. "Now, Bahorel and Feuilly will share, Lesgle, Joly, and Jean will share, Courfeyrac and Marius will room, and finally, so will Enjorlas and Grantaire-"

"Ooh," Combeferre teased.

"Be good, you two," Bahorel said.

Enjorlas rolled his eyes.

"Well, see you tomorrow!" Eponine called over her shoulder as they parted ways.

* * *

Eponine went right to sleep while Cosette took a shower. When she came out of the bathroom, with her blonde hair tied in a towel and a fluffy pink robe on her slim body, she shook 'Ponine awake. "C'mon, 'Ponine."

Eponine groaned and rolled over. "You showered long enough."

Cosette laughed. "You slept long enough."

Eponine drowsily threw a pillow at her and stumbled into the bathroom.

* * *

As Eponine was climbing into bed, Cosette, who was staring out the window, said, " 'Ponine, look at this."

Eponine sighed and stood beside her at the window. All she could say was, "Wow."

The many lights of the city illuminated the black night sky. It was one huge mass of artificial stars. Eponine, who was a bit of an environmentalist, felt sad about all the energy that was being wasted in this big city, but at the same time it was all too amazing to care.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" said Cosette.

Eponine smiled. "Beautiful."

And for a moment, she and Cosette just looked at each other, smiling like there was no tension between them and they were, and had always been, best friends.

**So what did you think? Do review! In case you're wondering, Cosette and Eponine have a complicated friendship. Cosette likes 'Ponine and wants to still be friends with her, but 'Ponine's a bit unsure about that. She holds a grudge against Cosette for the whole Marius thing. Like in the book, they knew each other as children. Anyway, that will all be explained later.**

**-AzurezOtter**


	2. AN (Will update soon!)

**A/N**

**Dear readers, **

**I'm so sorry you haven't seen an update in a LONG time! I've been busy! This story kinda got buried under all my others, which I am very embarrassed to say. See, I'm writing a novel, and I want to have it finished in time to start another one for NaNoWriMo. So...my non-fanfiction writing is pretty time-consuming at the moment. Along with a bunch of other non-writing things that I don't need to list now. So, sorry, and expect an update soon! :) (And please, don't kill me.)**

**Sincerely your very sorry writer,**

**AzureOtter **


	3. Nick

**Mes Amis, I greatly apologize for the wait. So to make it up to you, I have written a very interesting chapter with lots of adventure, danger, humor, romance, mystery, and even some feels. Probably the best chapter of any story I've ever written. Well, maybe not. Idk. ****I hope you enjoy! (And I don't own Les Mis. Duh.)**

**Oh, and there are probably TONS of indent and paragraph placing errors in this chapter. So...sorry 'bout that. But it shouldn't make any difference on your reading experience. :) **

**One more thing. Thanks so much for the understanding reviews about me taking so long to update. :) Once again, I greatly apologize. **

Eponine had nightmares.

She tossed and turned in her sleep as the scene of her father's death played over and over in her mind. She held a bloody knife in her hand. She saw herself, eyes crazed, black hair that was short and spiky at the time sticking up on all ends like a cat on the prowl. Though she was looking at herself in the dream, she felt herself, too. She felt the soft fabric of her tank top stick to her body with sweat. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stick up, felt the cool night air brush over her body, felt the knife clenched in her sweaty hand. She felt adrenaline spread through her body as she raised the knife...

And she smelled the foul stench of blood.

Saw herself lower the knife, tears flooding through eyes as she stared down at the form of her dying father.

And she heard, too. That was the worst of it. She heard her little sister's voice crying, "Eponine!" as the girl Azelma had always looked up to collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood, sweat, and tears. Heard police sirens in the distance, coming closer and closer to where she lay weeping next to her father's corpse. Heard Montparnasse scream, "What have you done?" Heard his retreating footsteps as he ran from her and that dark alley, ran, ran, till he was far away from the scene of the crime. That had always been his tactic-run, and fight later. The coward.

She felt a hand touch her shoulder and looked up to see Azelma. Taking her hand, she took her back home. Hid her; from the police, and from their mother and Thenardier's gang. Washed the blood and grime from her. Lied for her; protected her.

* * *

When Eponine woke up, she was covered in cold sweat.

"Eponine?" said a voice.

She looked up to see Cosette hovering over her, a concerned look on her face. "Eponine? You alright?"

Eponine forced a smile. "Fine. Just...had a nightmare."

"Oh." The blonde sat down at the edge of the bed. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No." Eponine sat up and began pulling on her sneakers.

"Where are you going?" Cosette asked, alarmed.

"For a jog."

"But...You just woke up! And you're still in your pajamas! You haven't brushed your hair, or your teeth, or eaten breakfast, or-anything!"

"Oh, right." She put a sweater on over her "Not A Morning Person" pajama top and popped one of Cosette's breath mints into her mouth. "See you in a bit."

And she ran out the door, leaving a very confused Cosette sitting in her wake.

* * *

Running always helped Eponine think.

Most people felt walking did; or writing, or talking out a problem with a close friend. But not Eponine Thenardier. No, she ran. She didn't write out her troubles in a diary; she didn't like to write. She didn't take a slow walk in the park; walking like an innocent passerby made her feel vulnerable, like a child trailing behind her mother in a shopping market. She didn't talk to a friend; she had close friends, but none close enough to tell her deepest secrets to. Instead, she ran. She ran away from everything when she had a problem she didn't want to face. It wasn't something she was proud of, but it was the only thing that seemed to work.

Finally, when she was too tired to run anymore, she stopped at a cafe and ordered an iced coffee. Looking at her phone, she realized it was already nearly lunch. And she had practically a hundred worried texts from her friends back at the hotel.

She ignored them. She just wanted to be alone. The memory of her father had not haunted her for several months; lately, her sleep had been filled with worries about upcoming exams. But now that she was away from school, the old nightmares had returned. It was as if her mind sensed that she was excited and happy about this trip, and said, "Oh, we can't let that happen! Let's torment Eponine, shall we?"

She sat down to read her texts, though she had no intention of answering them.

_Cosette: "Eponine, are you alright?"_

_Enjorlas: "Eponine, where the insert-swear-word here are you?" _

_Joly: "Hey Eponine! We're going to breakfast u coming?"_

_Grantaire: "jsoojoe;o ]-s iY"S t[A"jang;j;SJ:A."_

_Enjorlas: "EPONINE. I REPEAT: WHERE ARE YOU?"_

_Marius: "Eponine, we're all worried sick!"_

_Lesgle: "Hey Ep. What's up?_

_Combeferre: "So. Not. Cool."_

_Courfeyrac: "DUDE. Where r u? Are u sick? Have u been any of the following: raped, murdered, mugged, injured, etc? If not, GET UR A$$ BACK HERE WE'RE WORRIED SICK!" _

Eponine sighed and turned her phone off, not bothering to read the rest of the texts. She sipped her coffee and stared out the window. NYC was mostly people, skyscrapers, and vehicles, but there were a few trees which just happened to be turning colors. Autumn was already near. How fast the year had flown!

She suddenly noticed that a young man across the room was staring intently at her. He was sinfully handsome, with wavy brown hair, steely bluish-gray eyes, and a slim but muscular build. Catching her eye, he closed his laptop and sauntered over to her.

He made Eponine feel uncomfortable and she tried to move away, but he was standing by her before she had even got out of her seat.

Eponine remembered what Courfeyrac had said in his text: "_Have you been any of the following: raped, murdered, mugged, injured, etc?" _

_Well, we're about to find out, Courfeyrac, _she thought grimly.

But the man surprised her by bowing. "Mademoiselle," he said. "May I take your coat?"

Eponine stepped back in surprise and nearly ran into the window. "Who are you?" she demanded.

The man looked surprised at her French accent. "Well, you really are a mademoiselle!" he exclaimed. "I've been watching you, and...See, I'm an artist. And you are really just the perfect model for a painting. Beautiful black hair, gorgeous green eyes, and a fine body...And what a chin! Have you ever seen such fine a chin as that?" he addressed the entire cafe.

Eponine blushed as people stared at them. But she was also blushing at his compliments; she had never been considered beautiful before, by anyone. "Someone might steal your laptop, Monsieur," she said stupidly.

"Oh, I don't care about that," he replied. "Everyone in this little coffee shop knows me; I'm here nearly everyday. Usually I'm working on an art piece, but today I was organizing notes for class."

"Are you in art school?" the girl asked interestedly.

"Yes," he replied. "I am nearly twenty-four. I'm in college, but I've been studying art for about four years, and I'm looking for a job to teach it at a high school."

"Nice!" said Eponine, suddenly interested. "Tell me a bit more about yourself. Oh, and pull up a chair."

He did so. "Well, there's not much to tell. I've been interested in art since I was a young boy. I decided to pursue my dream. I've lived in New York City all my life-took a trip to Europe once, to study the art there. What about you?"

So Eponine told him about how she majored in English back in France and became part of a foreign exchange program, along with her good friends back at the hotel. She lived in a suburb of Chicago. Of course, she left out many of the darker details of her life.

"Fascinating," said the man. "How long will you stay in NYC?"

"A little less than two weeks," Eponine replied. She glanced at her phone. "Oh, I have to go. My friends-they're worried about me. About ready to call the police. Um...Will I be seeing you around, then?"

He spread his arms. "As long as you keep coming to my kingdom-ahem, the cafe."

Eponine laughed. "Can I get your name?"

"In exchange for your phone number, sweetheart."

"Here." She wrote it down on a napkin. "Will you text me your's?"

"Sure thing."

Eponine suddenly giggled. "I just realized something...I never asked your name."

He smiled. "Nicholas. You can call me Nick. Or Saint Nicholas, whatever you choose."

Eponine laughed again. "You're too funny. You can call me Eponine."

"Okay, then, Eponine. You had better return to your friends."

They both stood up at the same time. "Goodbye," said Eponine, not really willing to leave.

"See ya," said Nick. And without any hesitation, he kissed her on the cheek.

She floated away from him, cheeks burning. But before she had made it through the door, he called after her, "Hey, Eponine?"

She turned her head. "Yeah?"

"Nice pants."

A feeling of dread going through her, she slowly looked down to behold her Hello Kitty pajama bottoms.

Then she ran out the door.


	4. Mamma Mia! and Worried Friends

**I'm sorry that the paragraphs and stuff are a little wacky in this chapter, I used copy and paste from Google Drive. **

**I don't own Les Mis. Reviews, favorites, and follows are always welcome! **

When Eponine got back to the hotel, she was met in the lobby by some very angry and nervous friends.

"Eponine!" cried Cosette. "Where _have _you been?" She threw her arms around her neck.

"Let go of me," Eponine said bitterly. "Why all the fuss? I was only gone for a few hours. I told you I was going for a jog."

"Yeah, but when you didn't answer any of our texts, we assumed something had happened!" Enjorlas shouted. The woman at the check-in desk gave him an angry look.

"Well, looks like someone was worried about me," Eponine said, playfully nudging Enjorlas.

He blushed. "You're one of my best friends. Of _course _I was worried."

"So how many guys did you pick up on your little 'jog'?" Grantaire asked.

Eponine glared at him. "For your information, I only picked up _one _guy," she said to tease him...even though it was true.

"Ooh," a few of the boys said at once.

"We should get lunch," Cosette said, looping her arm through Marius'.

"Where?" Combeferre asked.

"Let's order pizza and hang out in the hotel all afternoon," Courfeyrac suggested.

Enjorlas raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? We're in New York, and all you want to do is eat pizza in the hotel all day?"

He shrugged. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Yes." Enjorlas unfolded a long sheet of paper and began reading a list. "The Brooklyn Museum, the Art Museum, the-"

They all groaned. " 'Jorlas, please," Courfeyrac said. "We'll be here for two whole weeks. Do we have to do everything at once?"

"Yes, in fact, we do. And, if you'll remember, the school payed for part of this trip because they thought it would enrich our learning of American culture."

"Whatever," Lesgle said. "Personally, I think I should stay in the hotel the entire trip. I can't imagine what bad luck awaits me in the big city. That's why I never go up to Chicago when I live an hour away from it."

"Fine, we'll hang around here today," Enjorlas said. "But just for today."

"I have my 'Harry Potter' convention in two days," Eponine said.

"Oh, that's right!" Bahorel said. "You won't be able to come to all the boring museums with us. Lucky you."

Enjorlas glared at him. "What kind of pizza do you want? I'm ordering it now."

By nightfall, Grantaire was drunk as could be, Enjorlas was about ready to kill himself, Jehan was reading Jane Austen out loud to an incredibly bored Courfeyrac, and an entire day had been spent.

In the room the girls shared, Eponine was watching _Mamma Mia! _while Cosette read a book. When the song "Our Last Summer" came on, Cosette turned the TV off.

"What? Why'd you do that?" Eponine asked with a mouth full of popcorn.

"We need to talk. Anyway, I don't like this song."

"How could you not like it? Bloody Colin Firth sings it!"

Cosette perched on the edge of the bed. "What happened this morning, 'Ponine?"

"I went for a walk."

"Why didn't you answer our texts? Are you mad about something?"

"No," Eponine muttered. "Go away."

"_No." _Cosette's sharp tone surprised Eponine and she looked her way. "See what I mean? You're upset."

Eponine sighed. "I-I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare shouldn't affect your entire day."

"It was a bad one. About something that happened a long time ago."

"Are you _sure _you don't want to talk about it?"

Eponine hesitated. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay, fine." Cosette's eyes were suddenly alight with a mischievous glint. "So who is this guy you told Grantaire about?"

"You _know_ I was kidding."

"Oh?"

Eponine giggled. "Oh, Cosette, he's perfect! It...it felt like..."

"Love at first sight?"

"Sorta. I thought he was going to mug me or something-he'd been staring at me-but he turned out to be an artist who thought I was the perfect model for a painting! So we got to talking, and it turns out he's an art student!"

Cosette smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "Really? What's he look like? How old is he? Is he charming, funny...what? Tell me more!"

Eponine was delighted to. "Well, he's tall with handsome features, like wavy brown hair and blue eyes. Oh, and he has this gorgeous smile! Perfectly white teeth! He's charming, and really, really funny. You guessed correct."

"Is he your age?"

"Older. He's twenty-four."

Cosette spit out her tea. "_Twenty-four? _Eponine, you're nineteen!"

"_Almost _twenty. My birthday's coming up."

"But still..._Twenty-four?"_

_"_Oh, come Cosette, no one cares about age nowadays! Besides, the age difference makes no difference to me whatsoever."

Cosette raised her hands in surrender. "Okay. Just...Be careful. Don't do anything rash. Please?"

Eponine laughed. "Since when have _I _done anything rash? Cosette, it's not like we're gonna-"

"Please, Eponine, just promise-"

Eponine took the other girl's hands and smiled. "Cosette, stop your fussing. Everything will be fine. Capiche?"

Cosette cracked a smile. "Capiche."

"Now, what do you say we finish the movie?"


End file.
